Nenne greets the group with a smile when they awaken. She seems a little healthier than she was the previous night, though her coloring is still a sickly shade of indigo and she moves slower than usual. "Thank you all for being considerate of me," she says with a humble nod. "To repay you, I have some cheerful news: Eku will be joining us tomorrow."
As soon as the sun rises Allister is eager to the temple. "Rise and shine, everyone. Time to find another of those cubes. Orvex, can we look for another of the animal tales? I bet there is another one that tells us a rat betrayed an owl or something down that line." He packs his bedroll... and stops. "Come again, Nenne? I think you just said Eku will arrive here in Omu tomorrow... You had a fever dream? I mean, how?"
Orvex addresses Nenne first and then Allister, "Who is Eku? Is that another friend of yours? Do you have reinforcements coming!?" He seems excited by the possibility of more support in this city. "I can look inside, but I didn't find anything else out here. Uhh, that is once it is safe and secure." He gives and uncomfortable laugh while looking down the hallway at the arrow slits.
Patting his rock and throwing it over the edge, Lemon joins the group to explore the temple. Chuckling with delight, Lemon brings forth his club and smacks it lazily against his hand. Ready for whenever the temple has to offer to him.
Rising and feeling much better than before resting, Sthara greets her party members and smiles at the mention of Eku.
"I am glad she will be joining us again," she says. And then turning to Orvex, she adds, "Eku was our guide for navigating the jungles when we first set out to find the source of the curse. She was left behind in Mezro when Ubtao used his power to bring us to his Heart to meet Valindra, who told us of Omu."
She hobbles a bit as she gets used to the dull pain in her shin, approaching near to the temple and peering around it as best she can make.
"I cannot help but wonder why it is that these places of worship all seem quite keen on killing those who would enter their doors. They seem less like temples and more like slaughterhouses."
Down the shrine's hallway Sthara can see that it opens up inside to a larger room. There is a pedestal with a cube sitting on it that looks like the other cubes the party has been collecting.
Nenne's eyes gain something of a knowing twinkle at Allister's remark. "I sent a message to her. She's swift. She might even arrive today, if all goes well."
Turning to Sthara, she says, "I do not believe these are intended to be houses of worship, anymore. They are vaults. Whatever these cubes are or do is something the architects intended to safeguard. Let's be on our guard."
As Orvex translates the message above the entrance, Boosey casts comprehend languages on himself once more in an attempt to find more hidden messages. "Lemon. If you'd be so kind?" and he points to the words above the lintel stone. Once finished, he remains with the group to begin exploring the temple.
The gnome looks a little perplexed at the cube just sitting there on the pedestal. "Should we look around a little first, before crossing the floor to the cube? All is probably not as it seems, and it would be wise to try and avoid another mishap!"
Nenne walks over to Allister as he's preparing to approach the temple. "I'm not at my best, today, but I can at least do this for you." She pokes him gently on the forehead; as a warm prickly sensation overtakes him, he begins to notice much more minute details in his surroundings than before. (Enhance Ability - Owl's Wisdom) "Be vigilant in my stead. I'll care for the group."
Offering him a slightly weary smile, she bends down to grab a twig and, covering it with her hands, she whispers something in her native language. A bright light shines through her fingers. She hands the Lighted twig to him and says, "This should help, too."
"It can´t be as easy as the last one. We should be careful. Let´s see how to get across the not Lemon style." Allister takes a few steps inside and tries to finds the usual traps, hidden doors and secret mechanisms
Allister determines the hallway is safe and that the niches on the sides of the walls aren't niches at all, but arrow slits. The arrow slits are cut through a foot thick of stone and there are voids on both sides of the hallway. In the middle of the central room, a stone cube rests on a plain stone pedestal. Statues of twelve tribal warriors jut from the surrounding walls, aiming bows at the pedestal. The floor in front of the pedestal bears a mosaic depicting a monstrous serpent constricting a furious monkey. Moss obscures much of the detail.
The void on the left side of the hallway contains a statue of a coiled serpent dominates this web-filled room. The statue is missing its head, which lies broken on the floor next to a stone cube. The void on the right side of the hallway contains a large statue of a coiled serpent dominates this web-filled room. Clutched in the statue’s jaws is a stone cube. The whole temple has not been traversed in a very, very long time. Cobwebs cover everything and the only way into the voids is through the four inch wide arrow slits.
Boosey moves forward to look at the mosaic, gently pulling away the vegetation to reveal more of the image. He doesn't find any evidence of traps, but does spot more cunieform hidden in the mosaic. "How about a little light?" he asks the world in general as he struggles to read what's there. Once he has some light to read by, he places his fingers lightly on top and begins to read.
"That night, a su-monster broke into Ubtao’s palace and stole a pail of water for the Omuans. When the god came running to find it, the su-monster hid the pail in a jaculi’s burrow. Ubtao asked the jungle animals where his water was hidden, and Moa the jaculi was too honest to lie. When Wongo the su-monster found out how Moa had betrayed him, he vowed to catch the jaculi and eat him up."
Nenne follows cautiously behind. Noticing the arrow slits, she borrows the Lighted twig from Allister and ventures over to one of the voids. Using the twig to shed some light into the room beyond, she tries to peer inside for a better view of its contents. (Perception 19)
Nenne spots numerous, small spiders and other insects creeping about on all the webbing and floor inside. The light spurs them into motion, but the room doesn't appear to house and extra things undiscovered unless it is hidden under the swathes of web attached to the ceilings.
Casting Speak to animals on himself, Lemon actually takes a closer look at the spiders and begins to speak to them. He asked them if they knew anything about the temple, and if there was a way to solve it. Maybe knowledge of past generations have been past upon these creatures from their own ancestors.
As a little bonus, and since no one would know, he also asked them if there were any exotic foods nearby. He wouldn't take them all, but he would like some.
The companions, if they look at Lemon, can see him suddenly stuff a short stubby arm inside the hole, and pop it back out once more to throw something in his mouth. Only crunches can be heard from within his mouth, as his hand once more reaches inside the hole, attempting at another bite. However, suddenly his eyes go wide with shock, and his head looks slowly towards Nenne is a embarrassing manner. "Uh. Elf? Me arm be stuck."
As everyone can see, a 4 foot blond overweighted dwarfs arm was stuffed in one of the holes, and tried as he could, it would not come out. And as it so happened, his wide body blocked the way to Allister as well.
Nenne feels a giggle rising in her throat, which she manages to stifle for the dwarf's sake. She exchanges glances with the rest of the party from over his head, doing her very best to remain composed, before approaching him.
"I'm afraid I have no oils to facilitate an extraction," she says, peering at the arm with furrowed brows. "Water might help?" She proceeds to pour some water from her waterskin on his arm in the hope moisture will make it easier for him to tug.
Nenne greets the group with a smile when they awaken. She seems a little healthier than she was the previous night, though her coloring is still a sickly shade of indigo and she moves slower than usual. "Thank you all for being considerate of me," she says with a humble nod. "To repay you, I have some cheerful news: Eku will be joining us tomorrow."
As soon as the sun rises Allister is eager to the temple. "Rise and shine, everyone. Time to find another of those cubes. Orvex, can we look for another of the animal tales? I bet there is another one that tells us a rat betrayed an owl or something down that line." He packs his bedroll... and stops. "Come again, Nenne? I think you just said Eku will arrive here in Omu tomorrow... You had a fever dream? I mean, how?"
Orvex addresses Nenne first and then Allister, "Who is Eku? Is that another friend of yours? Do you have reinforcements coming!?" He seems excited by the possibility of more support in this city. "I can look inside, but I didn't find anything else out here. Uhh, that is once it is safe and secure." He gives and uncomfortable laugh while looking down the hallway at the arrow slits.
Patting his rock and throwing it over the edge, Lemon joins the group to explore the temple. Chuckling with delight, Lemon brings forth his club and smacks it lazily against his hand. Ready for whenever the temple has to offer to him.
Made you look.
Rising and feeling much better than before resting, Sthara greets her party members and smiles at the mention of Eku.
"I am glad she will be joining us again," she says. And then turning to Orvex, she adds, "Eku was our guide for navigating the jungles when we first set out to find the source of the curse. She was left behind in Mezro when Ubtao used his power to bring us to his Heart to meet Valindra, who told us of Omu."
She hobbles a bit as she gets used to the dull pain in her shin, approaching near to the temple and peering around it as best she can make.
"I cannot help but wonder why it is that these places of worship all seem quite keen on killing those who would enter their doors. They seem less like temples and more like slaughterhouses."
Down the shrine's hallway Sthara can see that it opens up inside to a larger room. There is a pedestal with a cube sitting on it that looks like the other cubes the party has been collecting.
Nenne's eyes gain something of a knowing twinkle at Allister's remark. "I sent a message to her. She's swift. She might even arrive today, if all goes well."
Turning to Sthara, she says, "I do not believe these are intended to be houses of worship, anymore. They are vaults. Whatever these cubes are or do is something the architects intended to safeguard. Let's be on our guard."
As Orvex translates the message above the entrance, Boosey casts comprehend languages on himself once more in an attempt to find more hidden messages. "Lemon. If you'd be so kind?" and he points to the words above the lintel stone. Once finished, he remains with the group to begin exploring the temple.
The gnome looks a little perplexed at the cube just sitting there on the pedestal. "Should we look around a little first, before crossing the floor to the cube? All is probably not as it seems, and it would be wise to try and avoid another mishap!"
Nenne walks over to Allister as he's preparing to approach the temple. "I'm not at my best, today, but I can at least do this for you." She pokes him gently on the forehead; as a warm prickly sensation overtakes him, he begins to notice much more minute details in his surroundings than before. (Enhance Ability - Owl's Wisdom) "Be vigilant in my stead. I'll care for the group."
Offering him a slightly weary smile, she bends down to grab a twig and, covering it with her hands, she whispers something in her native language. A bright light shines through her fingers. She hands the Lighted twig to him and says, "This should help, too."
"It can´t be as easy as the last one. We should be careful. Let´s see how to get across the not Lemon style." Allister takes a few steps inside and tries to finds the usual traps, hidden doors and secret mechanisms
Allister determines the hallway is safe and that the niches on the sides of the walls aren't niches at all, but arrow slits. The arrow slits are cut through a foot thick of stone and there are voids on both sides of the hallway. In the middle of the central room, a stone cube rests on a plain stone pedestal. Statues of twelve tribal warriors jut from the surrounding walls, aiming bows at the pedestal. The floor in front of the pedestal bears a mosaic depicting a monstrous serpent constricting a furious monkey. Moss obscures much of the detail.
The void on the left side of the hallway contains a statue of a coiled serpent dominates this web-filled room. The statue is missing its head, which lies broken on the floor next to a stone cube. The void on the right side of the hallway contains a large statue of a coiled serpent dominates this web-filled room. Clutched in the statue’s jaws is a stone cube. The whole temple has not been traversed in a very, very long time. Cobwebs cover everything and the only way into the voids is through the four inch wide arrow slits.
Boosey moves forward to look at the mosaic, gently pulling away the vegetation to reveal more of the image. He doesn't find any evidence of traps, but does spot more cunieform hidden in the mosaic. "How about a little light?" he asks the world in general as he struggles to read what's there. Once he has some light to read by, he places his fingers lightly on top and begins to read.
"That night, a su-monster broke into Ubtao’s palace and stole a pail of water for the Omuans. When the god came running to find it, the su-monster hid the pail in a jaculi’s burrow. Ubtao asked the jungle animals where his water was hidden, and Moa the jaculi was too honest to lie. When Wongo the su-monster found out how Moa had betrayed him, he vowed to catch the jaculi and eat him up."
Nenne follows cautiously behind. Noticing the arrow slits, she borrows the Lighted twig from Allister and ventures over to one of the voids. Using the twig to shed some light into the room beyond, she tries to peer inside for a better view of its contents. (Perception 19)
Nenne spots numerous, small spiders and other insects creeping about on all the webbing and floor inside. The light spurs them into motion, but the room doesn't appear to house and extra things undiscovered unless it is hidden under the swathes of web attached to the ceilings.
Casting Speak to animals on himself, Lemon actually takes a closer look at the spiders and begins to speak to them. He asked them if they knew anything about the temple, and if there was a way to solve it. Maybe knowledge of past generations have been past upon these creatures from their own ancestors.
As a little bonus, and since no one would know, he also asked them if there were any exotic foods nearby. He wouldn't take them all, but he would like some.
Made you look.
The companions, if they look at Lemon, can see him suddenly stuff a short stubby arm inside the hole, and pop it back out once more to throw something in his mouth. Only crunches can be heard from within his mouth, as his hand once more reaches inside the hole, attempting at another bite. However, suddenly his eyes go wide with shock, and his head looks slowly towards Nenne is a embarrassing manner. "Uh. Elf? Me arm be stuck."
As everyone can see, a 4 foot blond overweighted dwarfs arm was stuffed in one of the holes, and tried as he could, it would not come out. And as it so happened, his wide body blocked the way to Allister as well.
Made you look.
Nenne feels a giggle rising in her throat, which she manages to stifle for the dwarf's sake. She exchanges glances with the rest of the party from over his head, doing her very best to remain composed, before approaching him.
"I'm afraid I have no oils to facilitate an extraction," she says, peering at the arm with furrowed brows. "Water might help?" She proceeds to pour some water from her waterskin on his arm in the hope moisture will make it easier for him to tug.
"Ye want to water the rest of me like a... blessed plant ye damn elf? Just help me get out of 'er!"
Made you look.
Orvex ignores Lemon and busies himself copying down the cuneiform story.